John Cornyn Wins GOP Nomination for Senate in Texas

Senate Minority Whip John Cornyn of Texas won the GOP nod outright in his re-election battle, clobbering a congressman and his tea party supporters in the first primary of the midterm elections.

Cornyn had 63 percent of the vote, and Rep. Steve Stockman had 17 percent of the vote, when the Associated Press called the election for the two-term senator. The Senate’s No. 2 Republican cleared the necessary majority threshold to avoid a runoff against Stockman.

There are few big takeaways to glean from this contest, beyond the fact that tea party groups failed to find a viable candidate to challenge Cornyn before the filing deadline.

Stockman ran a disorganized campaign. National groups like the Club for Growth and Senate Conservatives Fund declined to endorse him.

Still, Cornyn left nothing to chance. Cornyn raised $8.4 million and spent nearly $6.3 million, according to his most recent fundraising report filed with the Federal Election Commission website.

For now, this an uncompetitive race, and it is rated Safe Republican by Rothenberg Political Report/Roll Call.